Cooling and precooling apparatus



March 17, 1925. 1,530,108

J. E. COLLINS COOLING ANDl PRECOOLING APPARATUS `Filed June 13, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l l March 17, 1925.

J. E. COLLINS COOLING AND PRECOOLING APPARATUS Filed June 13. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 c e c e q G c c e c e e u Patented Mar. 17, 1925.

unirse stares PATENT ortica.

JOSEPH E. COLLINS, OF RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR IO` THE IMPERIAL ICE St DEVELOPMENT COIMPANY,

OF RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA.

COOLING AND PRECOOIJING APPARATUS.

Application filed June 1 8, 1923. Serial No. 645,216.

To all 107mm it may concern:

Re it known that l, Joanna E. Cocinas, a citizen oi" 'the United States, residing at Riverside, in the county of Riverside, State oit California. have invented new and usetul Improvements in Cooling and Precooling i'lrpparatus. ot which thc .Following is a den tailed specification. y

'lhis invention has to do with apparatus 9 tor cooling', precooling, chilling or refrigerating fruits, vegetables, or edibles ot any character; or in fact, any articles that it may be desired to lower in temperature. The apparatus that forms the subject matter of' 5 this application and the corresponding processthat forms the subject matter of a companion application liled on .lune 11th, 1923, entitled Precooling process, Serial No. 644,708, are capable of cooling any ari ticle or body; and although they are peculiarly eliicacious for the cooling of such things as cantaloupes and lettuce, because of the diiiiculties previously encountered in the eliective cooling of such articles, and although the apparatus herein described has been developed specifically with such articles in view, it will be readily understood that the invention is not thereby limited.

Ileretoiore considerable difficulty has been experienced in cooling such vegetables and lettuce because the layers ot air held between the leaves virtually insulate the interior parts of the lettuce against heat extraction. Difficulties iu heat extraction have been experienced in. the cooling ot other vegetables and fruits. The present invention is aimed not only to overcome these dil'licuh ties but to increase the` eli'iciency of cooling operations for all classes ot articles. In preparing fruits and vegetables i'or shipment it is very desirable to precool them before placing in refrigerating cars; and the cost and time required to precool under the present known systems has become a very material item in the shipment oit fruits and vegetables. A. reduction in the cost and time ot precooling is thus of substantial benefit to the grower and shipper. The time element is important ot itself on account ot the perishable nature o'l' many articles.

I have found that the'eliiciency of cooling may be materially increased by immersing the Fruit or vegetablesin a. cooling or rev frigerating liquid, such as cold Water; and I have devised ways and means for efficientw 1y maintaining` a body of cold water and for efficiently carrying the fruit or vegetables through the cold water, keeping them immersed for a sufficient time period to cool them throughout to the temperature desire-d. Howil accomplish these operations will be .best understood from the following detailed description wherein I described a typical and illustrative form of apparatus, referring tor this purpose to the accompanying drawings in which e* Fig. l is a diagrammatic plan; and

Fig. l is a diagrammatic sectional elevation showing a typical general arrangement of our precooling apparatus;

lig. Q is an enlarged longitudinal central vertical section or one end ot the apparatus; and y Fig. 3 is a similar view of the other end ot the apparatus;

Fig. l is an end elevation taken as indicated by line 4 4; on Fig. 2;

Fig. 5` is an enlarged cross-section on line 5-5 of Fig. 2;-

. Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross-section on line G-v-G of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional detail taken indicated by line 7M? of Fig. 6. `and Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail ofl2 a part ot the precooling tank.

In the drawii'igs there is shown at lO a suitable water tank which is of sufficient length that the articles to be cooled may re mainimmersed in the water tor the requisite time period while travelinu end to end otthe tank. The depth of the tank depends .in general upon the size of. the crates in which thc fruit or vegetables are handled; and the width of the tank depends upon the size-,ol the crates and also upon the number of lines of crates it is desired to put through the tank at one time.` In the present instance I show a tank Wide enough to take two lines or' crates; but any l y numbermay be accommodated by proper design.` This tank is supplied with cold Water or other cooling liquid up to about the level indicated at Il in the drawings; and in order to keepthe Water at a uniform low ytemperature it is circulated into and out ot the tank from and to a water cooling tank or refrigerating apparatus, as indicated at l1 in Fig. l, by a pump 11a. Assuming that the travel of the crates through the tank is from right to left in Figs, Zand 3, the cooled water from cooler 11 will be ted into the lett hand end oit the tankand the warmer water from the Atank will be taken out at its right handend, so that the conveyer movement counter to `the water flow, and the crate contents are subjected to the coldest water just betere leaving the tank.. The temperature oit the water or other liquid in the tank may be regulated to produce any desired temperature in the fruit or vegetables as they leave the tank.

Tank may be conveniently sunk .in the concrete tloor ot the building and is preterably insulated at its bottom and sides as indicated at 12, and is covered over with insulating covers 1S, the covering being pretterably made in sections so as to be easily removable.

A chain conveyer C extends through the tank trom end to end as shownin the drawings, its return course traveling over-head on a suitable iframe structure 11. 'lhis chain conveyer is, in the specitic 'form ot device .illustrated in the drawings, made up ot two chains 15 connected by cross-slats 16. Certain of the cross-slats 16 have bars 17 that project out at the ends ot the slats and slide between guides 18 mounted on the sides ot the tank. 'lhese guides 18 extend hori zontally, belowthe water level, through'the major portions ot' the tank but at the ends ot' the tank the guides rise `on an incline as indicated at 18a, so that the chain conveyer maybe guided down into the tank on an incline and also be guided out ot the tank on an incline. The entrance ends ot these inclined guides are flared as shown in detail in Fig. S at 19, so that the chain conveyer may have easy entry to the guides. Where the chain conveyer comes down its inclined travel at the right hand or entry end of the tank, it travels above an inclined chute 20 that leads down from table 21 to appoint at or near the bottom oit` the tank.

rl`he inclined chute prete'ably comprises a metal sheet or plate 21 that leads down to the edge ot' the tank and there overlaps another sheet or plate 21a that leads on down to or near the bottom ot the tank, plate 21L being supported on angles 211? secured to the sides ot the tank. The crates 22 slide down chute 2O into the cooling liquid. conveyer travels at a spaced distance over the inclined chute and over table 21, the space being suticient to `accommodatecrates 22; and the crates are pushed along bytransverse pusher boards 23 that are attached to certain of the cross-slats ot the conveyer by stoodv that the pusher boards may be attached to any desired slats, so that the pusher boards may be spaced apart any desired distance to accommodate crates of any size. Preferably the pusher boardsy andbars 17 are attached to the same slats, so that The chain lt will be readily underlreduced to 'a minimum.

bars 1T,`riding in guides 18, will stabilize the'pusher boards as much as possible.

rlhe conveyer guides are also inclined upwardly at the discharge end ot the tank as indicated at 1SLL in the drawings and the chain there travels up an incline above the inclined plane 25 on which crates 22 are pushed upwardly out ot the tank. 'the structure oi this inclined plane'25 is substantially the same as that ot inclined chute 2O except that the metal sheet or plate is here in one piece. The crates are pushed oil the upper end o1 inclined plane 25 onto a suitable conveyer 26, which may be a gravity roller conveyer or conveyers; and by these conveyers the crates are taken to packing tables where the operators remove the fruit or vegetables from the crates and pack them in shipping crates or boxes, usually icing them as they are packed. At the end ot its upward inclined travel at the discharge end ot the tank the conveyer runs over sprockets on a shaft 31; and from sprockets 30 the upper return course of con veyer C runs back to sprockets 32 at the head end ot the tank, from whence the conveyer travels down its inclined travel as beli'ore described. Sprockets 32 are mounted en a shaft 33 whose bearings are mounted so as to be adjustable, as by an adjustment Self.' to keep the conveyer tight.

Drive shatt 81 carrying the drive sprockets 30 is driven by chain from a variable speed transmission gear 36 which is driven from motor M. In Figs. 2 and 41 l `show an arrangement ot these driving elements designed to save floor space; but it will be understood that any other suitable driving arrangement may be used.

Crates 22 are ed'to table 21 by any suitable conveyers, as by gravity roller conveyors 4l). rl`hese gravity roller conveyors et@ may be arranged to carry the crates past trimming tables where operators trim or otherwise prepare the truit and vegetables and place them in the crates. `The crates are then shoved alongftable 21 into proper position to be engaged by the pusher boards 23 on the conveyer C; and so the crates are carried down the inclined chute 2O and enter the cold water in tank 10. As soon` as the crates are carried down into the water the buoyancy of the crates (constructed so as to be buoyant in themselves, as ot wood) and the buoyancy otl the truit or vegetables, keeps the crates up against the conveyer; so that the crates are then c.tloated through the water tank until they reach the incline 25 at the disehargeend ot the tank. The crates thus are not required to `have trictiona-l engagement with any guides or the like, and frictional losses are accordingly The conveyer C is ot course guided by its guides 18; and the conveyer `may be, as a Whole, ot such specic gravity that it tends somewhat to sink in the water and therefore tends somewhat to bear against the lower guides. But the design may be so made that the upward lifting torce ofthe crates and their contents exerted on the conveyer, due to the buoyancy of the crates and contents, is su'tlicient to greatly relieve the trictional pressure o't the Conveyor on the lower guides and to cause the conveyor more or less to tloat along between the guides without exerting any large pressure on either the lower or upper guides. By proper design and pii'oportioning, the 'friction ot travel ot the convcyer may thus be very largely eliminated.

The speed at which the conveyer is ope-rated, in a tank of any given length, will de` pend upon the time period required for cooling the crate contents to the desired temperature. Generally speaking, however, Ihave tound that fruits and vegetables may be cooled much more quickly by this method of in'nnersion than by any other known method of cooling. l

After the crates have lett the tank, the contents may be subjected to an air spray to dry them before packing. An arrangement for this purpose is diagraininatically illustra-ted at in Fig. 2.

Having described a preferred `foi-1n of my invention, l claim zl. Apparatus of the character described, comprising a tank adapted to hold a cooling liquid, a conveyer traveling from end to end of the tank, guides for the couveyer guiding it diagonally downwardly into one end oit the tank and guiding it diagonally upwardly out oft the other end of the tank, and inclined crate supporting chutes at the ends of the tank substantially parallel to and spaced below the inclined runs ot the convcyer and extending at their upper ends above the liquid level in the tank.

Q. Apparatus olf the character described, comprising a tank adapted to hold a cooling liquid. a conveyer traveling 'from end to end oi' the tank, guides for the conveyer guiding it diagonally downwardly into one end ot the tank and guiding it diagonally upwardly out of the other end of the tank,

.inclined crate supporting chutes at the ends ot the tank substantially parallel to and spaced below the inclined runs of the conveyer: the run ot the conveyer'between the two opposite inclines in the tank being below the liquid level therein, crate engaging members on the lower 'tace of the conveyer adapted to engage buoyant crates on the inclined chutes, and adapted to push such crates through the tank floating up against the `conveyerl 3. Apparatus of the character described, comprising a tank adapted to hold a cooling liquid, a conveyer traveling from end to end ot the. tank, guides tor the conveyer 'guidsite inclines in the tank being below the liquid level therein, crate engaging members on the lower tace ot the Conveyer ad apted to engage crates on lthe inclined chutes,

and means to operate the conveyer at vary' ing speeds of travel.I

fl. Apparatus of the character described, coniprising a tank adapted to hold a cooling liquid, guides in the tank extending diagonally downwardly into the tank at one end and then substantially horizontally under the liquid level to a point near the other end of the tank and then diagonally upwardly to the top of the tank, a conveyer traveling in said guides, and members on the lower tace of the conveyer adapted to engage buoyant articles and move them through the tank.

5. Apparatus of the character described, comprising a tank adapted to hold a cooling liquid, guides in the tank extending diagonally downwardly into the tank at one end and then substantially horizontally under the liquid level to a point nearthe other end of the tank and then diagonally upwardly to the top of the tank, a conveyer traveling in said guides, and members on the lower face of the conveyer adapted to engage buoyant articles and move them through the tank; the tank having inclines at its ends on which the articles are moved down into and out of the tank.

6. Apparatus ofthe character described comprising a tank adapted to hold a cooling liquid, an inclined chute extending down into one end of the tank, and a table and a feeding conveyer at the upper end of the inclined chute; an inclined plane extend-` ing upwardly out of the other end of the tank; guides in the tank extending diagonally downwardly into the tank above the inclined chute and thus extending substantially horizontally under the liquid level to a point near and above the lower end of the inclined plane and thus extending diagonally upwardly to the upper edge of the tank, a conveyer traveling in said guides, and

crate engaging members on the lower tace of the conveyer adapted to engage buoyant crates and move them down the linclined chute, through the liquid in the tank, and up the inclined plane.

7 Apparatus of the character described comprising a tank adapted to hold a cooling liquid, an inclined chute extending down into one end of the tank, and a table and a feeding conveyer at the upper end of the' inclined chute; an inclined plane extending Cil upwardly,v out of the other end of the tank; `guides in the tank extendin,T diagonally dounivnrdlv into the tank above the inclined chute. and thus extending` substantially horizontally under the liquid level to n point neer and above the lower end of the .inclined plane and thus extending;v dingonallv upwardly to the upper edge of the tank7 n eonveyer traveling' in said guidesA` and crate engaging members on the lower face of the comieyer adapted to engage buoyant crates and move them down the inclined chute7 through the liquid in the tank, and up the inclined plane; said eonveyer embodying chains and cross slutsi guide bers on some at least el the Cross slats and extending` beyond their ends to extend into the guides, und the Crete engaging members being)` mounted on the sume Cross slats that have the guide bars.

SL In apparatus of the character described, n, tank adopted to contain zi cooling` liquid, guides :it opposite sides of the tank, und :L eonveyer adapted to move in said guides und comprising chains, Cross-sluts secured to seid chains, guide bars mounted on some nt least of siiid cross slats and projecting` bevond their ends to enter the guides, und transverse pusher boards extending down from the lower ffice oit the eonveyer and mounted on the Cross slats on which the `guide bers are mounted.

In Witness that I claim the 'foregoing` I have hereunto subscribed my name this 24th day of Muy, 19mg.

JOSEPH E. COLLINS. lVitnesses z C. IV. Lori-IHOP, J. S. BARDWELL. 

